Vibrator



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a/QJ 0/ I X L 5 L 7 I H l W M 10. 0 0 W 7 z I 1 a 5 flan 2%, a z m 4 z a 2 I H. V. ELLIOTT ET AL VIBRATOR Feb.'13, 1951 Filed May 15, 1948 Patented Feb. 13, 1951 VIBRATOR Harold V. Elliott and Brooks H. Short, Anderson,

Ind., assign ors to General Motors Corporation,

Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application May 15, 1948, Serlal'No. 27,237

1 Claim. 1

The invention relates to apparatus for converting direct current from low voltage to higher voltage and more particularly the vibrator which distributes current in succession to the primary windings of a transformer.

An object of the invention is to provide a vibrator which can be easily adjusted to obtain the required separation of its contacts. This is accomplished by the provision of contact blade supports -or stops each having a body portion attached to the frame and extendin laterally beyond the adjacent side edge of the vibrator frame, a head portion engaging a blade at the end thereof carrying a contact and extending laterally beyond the adjacent side edges of the frame and blade and a neck portion narrower than the body portion and the head portion and located wholly beyond the adjacent side edges of the frame and blade and adapted to be bent by the application thereto of a rod having in one end thereof a notch receiving the neck portion and by the turning of the rod while thus engaging the neck portion in order to adjust the contact on the blade relative to the adjacent blade supported contact.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following deseription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged scale longitudinal sectional view of the vibrator, and its container.

Fig. 2 is a view of the vibrator in the direction of arrow 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the vibrator magnet spool looking in the direction of arrow of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a reduced scale view of the tool which is used in adjusting the vibrator contacts.

Fig. 6 is a wiring diagram showing the connections of the vibrator with a current source and primary windings of a transformer.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the vibrator frame.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the vibrator reed assembled with an armature and contacts.

Fig. 9 is a view of an assembly of a spring blade and one of the vibrator contacts.

Fig. 10 is a view in the direction of arrow 10 of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged scale view partly in longitudinal section of one of the contacts welded to a contact rivet.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 the vibrator comprises a frame 20 which provides a magnetic circuit including a core 2! and pole pieces 22. The core 2| extends through a spool which comprises parts 23 and 24 of molded insulating material upon which are wound a tape layer 2511, a coil 25 of wire and a tape layer 25b. An insulating spacer 26 and the assembly of spool and coil are placed upon the core 2| while the pole pieces 22 are located as shown in Fig. '7. After making this assembly the parts 22 are bent on lines 22a into parallelism as shown in Fig. 2. One end of the coil 25 marked 21 in Fig. 1 is attached to the frame 20 and the other end is connected to a lead wire 28. The corners of core 2| are deformed to retain the spool.

Screws 30 secure to the frame 20 a stack of parts comprising an insulator i i, metal contact springs MI and 33! in the same plane carrying respectively contacts 34! and: 35!, metal contact spring supports 351 in the same plane, an insulator 3|, a metal spacer plate 38, a terminal plate 39, a reed 40, a second terminal plate 39, a second spacer plate 38, a second insulator 3i, metal contact spring supports 351' in the same plane, metal contact springs 321' and 331' in the'same plane and supporting, respectively, contacts 341' and 351', an insulator 3i, a metal plate 4|. All parts of said stack parts are insulated from the screws 30 by nonconductin sleeves 42 except the plate 4|. Lock washers confined between the heads of the screws 30 and the plate 4| resist accidental loosening of the screws. The four insulators 3!, the two spacers: 3B, the plate 4!, the two terminals 39 and the reed 40 each have two holes receiving the bushings 42. The contact springs and the contact spring supports each have one hole for receiving a. bushing. Supports 35 each have a notclr. 31 for receiving a tang 31a. of the contact spring. The grain of the metal of the reed is in the direction of the longer dimension of the reed.

The contacts 34!, 352, 341', 351* engageable respectively with movable contacts 541, 551, 54r, 551' each having a spherical face as shown in Fig. 11 and welded to a rivet 50. Rivets carrying contacts 541 and 551 are attached to a resilient contact support 511 and the rivets carrying contacts 541' and 551 are attached to resilient contact support 5'". Supports 511 and 5'lr are attached by rivets 58 to the reed 40. An armature 60 is attached to the reed 40 by rivets 6| passing through the armature, the reed and a plate 62 against which the rivets are upset.

A wire 10 connects frame 20 with terminal plates 38 and reed 40 and plates 39 are connected by wire H with terminal 12. Wire 28 a nonconducting disc 6! that provides a cover for a case 82 enclosing the vibrator and sponge rubber members 63, 64, 66 and 66 which provide a cushioning support for the vibrator and its connections with the terminals.

The vibrator is connected as shown in Fig. 6 with the current source and primary windings of a transformer. Terminal I2 is connected by wire 90 and switch 6| with a storage battery 62 having one terminal grounded. The terminals 14, I6, 16 and 60 are connected respectively with transformer primary sections 94, 96, 98 and I" which are grounded at I I The transformer secondary I02 is connected with a rectifier, the output terminal of which is connected with the apparatus, such as a high frequency ignition system, requiring for its operation relatively high voltage direct current. Satisfactory operation of the vibrator is obtained provided the contact closing periods of all of the vibrator contacts are such that energization of the four sections of the primary of the transformer are equalized. In order to determine whether such equalization exists the vibrator is tested by the apparatus disclosed in corpending divisional application, Serial No. 109,198, filed July 18, 1949 and its relatively fixed contacts are adjusted during the test in order to obtain equalization. Equalization is obtained by adjusting the contact blade supports 36 until wave forms shown on an oscilloscope screen are equalized.

If the wave forms on the oscilloscope screen are not equal, an adjustment of the fixed contacts is made by bending the contact spring supporting plates 96 against which the contact supporting springs are biased. It will be observed that each plate 36 has a relatively narrow neck 361;, the bending of which will displace the head 36h of the plate 36 so as to change the normal contact gap. The bending of the neck 361i is effected by the T-shapedtool 226 shown in Fig. 5 which includes a handle integral with a shank 22l having a notch 222 wide enough to easily receive the neck 3611. By turning the handle the plate 36 can be easily bent in order to change the location of the fixed contact of a pair relative to the movable contact.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claim which follows.

What is claimed is as follows:

A vibrator for use in a low-to-high voltage D. C. converter comprising a magnetizable frame providing a core having a face at right angles to its axis, a magnet coil on the core, a magnetizable armature, a reed supported by the" 7 frame and normally supporting the armature in a position offset from the core and for movement of said armature closer to the core face when the magnet coil is energized, side contacts ports located between the reed and the blades and against which the blades are respectively biased,

each support having a body portion attached to the frame and extending laterally beyond the adjacent side edge of the frame, a head portion engaging a blade at the end portion thereof carrying a contact and extending laterally beyond the adjacent side edge of the frame and blade and a neck portion substantially narrower than the body portion and the head portion and located wholly beyond the adjacent side edges of the frame and blade and adapted to be bent by the application thereto of a rod having in one end thereof a. notch receiving the neck portion and by the turning of the rod while thus engaging the neck portion in order to adjust the'contact on the blade relative to the adjacent reed supported contact.

HAROLD V. ELLIO'IT.

BROOKS H. SHORT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name I Date 2,071,384 Barrett Feb. 23, 1937 2,120,273 Barrett June 14, 1938 2,131,789 Sullivan et a1. Oct. 4, 1938 2,156,487 Barrett May, 2, 1939 2,190,685 Slater Feb. 20, 1940 2,213,854 Wood Sept. 3, 1940 2,286,848 Garstang June 16, 1942 2,372,966 Kiltie Apr. 3, 1945 2,432,944 Shillington Dec. 16, 1947 

